Anbo

SHE WAS TOO PURE OK


"An" -- Derived from 'Anne', like in Anne Bonny and Mary Read
"Bo" -- means 'wave' in chinese (also fits to Anne Bonny)

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ANBO

Background lore written by Midknightfox
Pirate lore written by Catradora

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It was a quiet and beautiful morning when Levias was swimming along the coast. Last night's storm had whipped up a frenzy, leaving the new morning fresh. He was just about to go for a dive when he heard faint crying in the distance, calling to him from the shore. He stuck his head up out of the water and oriented himself, cocking his head to listen closer; sure enough, it truly was crying he had heard. It seemed to come from a small incline in the rocky shoreline. He swam off to investigate, grim curiosity and concern guiding him onwards.

A little Wildclaw hatchling was laying on the beach, sobbing her heart out. She was curled in a defensive ball, shivering from the water soaking into her scales. Levias rose from the water slowly, first his head, then his body, and she recoiled in shock, leaping to her feet and pumping strong legs to launch herself away. She soon hid, crouching into a small alcove.
He dipped his head down, eyes watching the girl as she shivered in fear. "Don't worry, little one. I won't hurt you. Are you alright?" Levias saw two small blue eyes notice him and widen in fear, turning her head back under her wing to hide from him. Laying down upon his stomach until his whole body, even his wings, were below her, she breathed out a sigh and began to tell the tales of his beloved Brizo.

He began telling a story of wonderful creatures living in the deep oceans and equally as fantastic ones living high in the sky. He waxed poetic over tales of old, honorable knights and fearsome foes and the lessons and morals they told. Slowly, the hatchling's crying turned into soft sniffling and eventually silence, and her wing twitched aside for her to watch as he spoke, his voice never wavering in the calm tones as he spoke soothingly of the stories he knew.

When she was finally relaxed, he ended his story and asked, softly, "What's your name? Are you lost?"

The hatchling spoke up, her voice still a bit shaky. "My name is Anbo. And.." - She sniffled - "And I lost my parents. I fell into the water and I thought I was going to die but then I washed up here. I don't know how to get out and I.." Tears began to stain her face, as she gasped in breaths to expel her words, "I want to go back to my parents." Levias nodded sympathetically and began singing a gentle lullaby with lilting hues. As he continued she began to breathe again, her watery eyes staring out at the sea as if it might betray her again.

He slowly ended his tune and smiled reassuringly. "I'll take you to a nearby trading post. If anybody has seen your parents, we will find them there." Anbo nodded and slid down from the alcove to climb on his back. Spreading his wings and flicking them experimentally - it had been so long since he had flown in the sky instead of through the water - he rose and launched into the air.

At the lively trading post, they soon found that her entire clan had come by to ask about her; however, they left at the crack of dawn, even her parents. The elders of the migrating clan had been convinced that little Anbo had drowned, and they couldn't afford to dawdle. Her parents had wanted to stay, but eventually had to give in and moved on.

Anbo simply sat with a defeated posture, wings sagging and eyes glimmering with unshed tears. She knew that her clan had no set destination and that without an actual end goal in mind, they could have gone anywhere, never to be seen again by those left behind. No matter how she fought it, she could feel heat beginning to warm behind her eyes, and soft streams falling from her cheeks to hit the dry ground.

Levias puts a wing around her soothingly. "Little Anbo, would you come with me to my mate? We'll be able to give you a start in this world, if you'd let us." He knew Brizo would understand; she was wise, and with such a sweet girl, she would hardly complain.

Anbo turned watering eyes up to Levias. "I should go after my parents," she began, looking none to excited for the task. "I... I should go find them..."

Levias sighed. Sternly, he explained, "Your parents could be anywhere right now. You won't do them any good if you get yourself killed out there. At least stay with us until you can stand on your own two feet." Anbo tried to stutter out an argument, but eventually, she lost steam.

"Alright, I'll trust you," she finally declared.

Levias hummed in approval. "Don't worry, little Anbo," he soothed. "My mate and I will teach you, and when the time comes to seek your family again, you will be ready."

And so Anbo lived with Levias and Brizo, learning stories of the world and its inhabitants. Sheltered by the strength of the two titanic Guardians, she grew up fast and soon she was a nimble adolescent, with the traits so prized in her breed; strong legs for running, wide wings for flight and maneuvering, sharp claws for battle. At this point, her adoptive parents began teaching her their treasured skills; to hunt, of course, to defend herself and to fly as most dragons can, with sharp wingbeats and cold air as her allies. Among the most treasured of her skills, however, was to swim in the water with as much strength as she rose to the air, perhaps more, as she could hunt and forage as if she'd been born in the waves. Though at first she did not trust the water, faint memories of her tumble into the sea haunting her mind, it took only the confidence of her Guardians to convince her to dive willingly into the waves, which soon became a fond delight.

When she had been with them for over a year, Brizo asked her the all important question, sharp eyes studying her resolve. "You have learned much of the world," she mused, "and I am certain you are equipped with what you need to find your family."

Levias nodded in agreement. "How can we help you prepare for your quest?"

Anbo looked between her adoptive parents. Strong Levias, calm as the atolls where she'd been born; and proud Brizo, cold in manner but warm in care; the pair to whom she owed everything she knew. "I.. I don't really want to leave anymore. You two have been more like my parents than my real parents and I don't even know what they look like anymore." For a moment, she felt as vulnerable as the day she'd hidden from Levias, curled in a crooked alcove. "May I... may I stay with you?"

Levias sat down gently next to Anbo and put a wing around her, still big enough to cover her completely in a cocoon of safety. "Of course you may," he reassured. "Your home will always be with us."

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Of course, as much as she was deeply relieved by their intent to stay by her side, there was also a big issue. Anbo knew very well what Brizo and Levias had sacrificed to raise her. They had not travelled far from the little cove where they'd found her since she had been taken in, and for them to be tied there forever would block them from ever achieving their goals. If she truly wanted to stay, indefinitely, she would have to find a way to travel with them - for, as good as she was at swimming, practically like a fish does - she could not sleep underwater as they did, travelling across the oceans on dives taking weeks upon weeks.
In the end, the solution was surprisingly simple.

Only a month later, Anbo woke to a striking crrrash and the slamming fwomph of magic as spells connected to their targets. Launching to her feet, she scrambled out of her cavern and leaped away, legs pumping as she saw both her Guardians out of the water and in full view, casting and attacking in perfect sync.

She leaped into the fray, screeching challenge and clawing furiously at the first dragon to move towards her. Her claws razed down dragon after dragon, until the onslaught was left a pile of collapsed foes. Panting, she found her dear mother, towering strength on full display, pinning down a Pearlcatcher with a pompous hat. A push caused his hat to fall into the sand.
"You won't get away with this," he shouted, yelping at Brizo's methods of interrogation. "You won't, I say! You won't! Nobody gets the better of me and my crew! We'll sell your paints to a beggar and feast upon your stores! We'll leave you land-rats to rot!" Brizo chuffed in grim amusement and pulled him up, smiling with all her teeth.

"I doubt it," she said shortly, throwing him to the ground and placing her claws threateningly on his back, pushing him into the sand. "Can you swim?"

His eyes widened, but before he could speak, she gripped him in two sharp claws and flung him away into the waves. She barreled after him, hissing of thieves and ruffians as she dove into the waves to ensure an unkind end.

Eyeing the chaos unhappily, Levias trotted over to his daughter, a reassuring wing offering her a place of safety. She joined him, carefully stepping over the littered ground, until a hat fell over her eyes.

She lifted it to find the soft material of the Pearlcatcher's hat. Levias grinned at her, nodding to the ship which was on one side at the shore, and Anbo found a thrill going through her chest.

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The ocean waves pressed against the hull of her ship - her ship - as she laughed into the open air. Beneath her, pushing the waves with casual tosses of their oceanic power, her parents swam, their large forms swimming nimbly through the currents. While Anbo had no crew to speak of, she had a pair of swift titans to aid her ship and a hat to declare her captain.

There was no moment where she'd ever been happier.

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